Run Away
by Just A Little Bit Dramatic
Summary: Blocking her thoughts from him, she walked back out of the cemetery, finally finding a hotel. Something to provide her temporary refuge, at least, until she could get a bus out of town...Susannah runs away to keep her loved ones safe. Songfic.


**This is my first Mediator story, so input would be greatly appreciated. I have only read Love You To Death (the first), and Grave Doubts (the fifth). Considering I specialize in Twilight, Narnia, Dr. Who, and X-Files stories, I'd love at least one review, telling me how much this sucks. This is set between Grave Doubts and Heaven Sent.**

**I don't own either The Mediator, the characters in it, or this song ("Run Away" by Pink, who is awesome to see live). How many of us would love to own Jesse?**

_I've got my things packed,_

_My favorite pillow, _

_Got my sleeping bag,_

_Climb out the window…_

Susannah zipped up her bag, glancing at the door, green eyes unreadable as she whispered a soft goodbye, and slid open her window to climb down the side of her house. Slipping, she grazed her palm, her ripped jeans narrowly avoiding further damage.

Landing, she stumbled before beginning to run. Rain was sprinkling down as she did, but she couldn't look back. The water plastered her hair to her head, dripping strands lashing at her cheek angrily as she sprinted. Her jeans and leather jacket clung to her, but she wouldn't stop.

Breathing erratically, she propelled her body forwards, not pausing to catch her breath, but pushing herself on, as though her life depended on it. "Come on, Suze…you can do this…" She managed those few words, but her voice was small. "It'll only get easier…"

_All the pictures and pain I left behind,_

_All the freedom and fame I gotta find,_

_And I wonder,_

_How long it'll take them to notice that I'm gone,_

_And I wonder,_

_How far it'll take me… _

She came to a stop, finally, in the Mission's cemetery. Staring at one grave in particular, a sob ripped from her chest, followed by another, and then another. Tears started to fall, with the rain, down her pale cheeks, and she bit her lip to make it stop.

Susannah finally calmed, resuming her cool exterior, and brushing her dripping hair from her face. Glancing at her saturated bag, she mused about where she could go. Not home…not the rectory…certainly not Paul Slater's. Even her friends wouldn't provide assistance at a time like this.

Touching the headstone briefly, her lips curved almost into a smile, and she started shivering. From cold, and…apprehension. Blocking her thoughts from _him, _she walked back out of the cemetery, finally finding a hotel. Something to provide her temporary refuge, at least, until she could get a bus out of town.

_To run away,_

_It don't make any sense to me,_

_Run away,_

_This life makes no sense to me,_

_Run away,_

_It don't make any sense to me,_

_Run away,_

_It don't make any sense to me…_

Curling up into a cold, damp ball on the bed, Susannah lay, shaking as she tried to warm herself. She longed for arms around her, _his _arms, but that could never be. Twice he had kissed her. Twice her heart had stopped, waiting for him to say those three words…and they never came.

Then there was the matter of Paul…another reason she was leaving. If she was gone, _he _wouldn't seek out Paul, or vice versa. Nothing would provoke them to attack each other, the temptation removed.

And _he _would be safe.

_I was just trying to be myself,_

_Have it your way, I'll meet you in hell,_

_It's all these secrets that I shouldn't tell,_

_I've got to run away,_

_It's hypocritical of you, do as you say not as you do,_

_I'll never be your perfect girl,_

_I've got to run away…_

Stirring only when the first rays of sunlight streamed through her window, Susannah considered crawling back under the blankets. But if she did, she'd never be able to leave. And she would be caught, dragged back…everything she worked for, gone.

She was more help to those who sought her out when she wasn't concerned for her family and friends. That was fact. So technically nothing was changing, except her location…her identity…her life. But it was only hers.

Forcing herself out of bed, she left the hotel room, pausing only to drop the key off at the registration desk. She had given him a false name. Heather. She doubted anyone would realize its significance. Or that anyone out of her family might actually miss having her around.

Then she left her temporary sanctuary.

_I'm too young to be, _

_Taken seriously,_

_But I'm too old to believe,_

_All this hypocrisy,_

_And I wonder,_

_How long it'll take them to see my bed is made,_

_And I wonder,_

_If I was a mistake…_

Watching the trees pass as she sat on the bus seat, Susannah paused to consider what her family would think. Her mother would be devastated, but she would move on. She always did. Her stepfather, somewhat upset. Her stepbrothers wouldn't even notice she was gone.

Maybe that was a good thing, the inner voice reminded her. Her cheeks heated as she realized she had spoken the words aloud, alerting the elderly man beside her. Murmuring an apology, she cleared her throat, and watched the movement outside of the bus.

The bus couldn't take her far, but it was traveling to the nearest city. Far enough that she wouldn't be recognized. Hopefully. For the first time, Susannah began to muse about how she'd survive.

Maybe she could get a part time job, lie low for a few weeks, and then attend a public school? A small flat shouldn't be too hard to find, and she had some money saved up. And she could easily pass eighteen or older, with some small enhancing of her features.

_I might have nowhere left to go,_

_But I know that I cannot go home,_

_These words are strapped inside my head,_

_Tell me to run before I'm dead,_

_Chase the rainbows in my mind,_

_And I will try to stay alive,_

_Maybe the world will know one day,_

_Why won't you help me run away?_

Her cell phone started ringing in her pocket, the ring tone loud. "Lips Of An Angel" started playing as Susannah sheepishly reached for the phone in question, glancing at it. Her mother was calling her. Closing her eyes, she considered whether to answer it.

If she answered, her mother would achieve some closure. Know she was okay. Not start a search for her kidnapper, or anything. If she didn't answer, her mother might think her kidnapped, or worse.

Making up her mind, Susannah pressed a button, lifting the phone to her ear. Wetting her full lips, she spoke, her voice hoarse as her mouth ran dry. "Mom?"

_It don't make any sense,_

_Run away,_

_This life makes no sense to me,_

_Run away…_

Susannah jerked the phone away from her ear as her mother began to shout. "Where the hell are you, Susannah Simon? I've called all your friends, none of them have seen you, and you didn't even call! Where are you?" A twinge of guilt filled Susannah as she registered the concern in her mother's voice.

The bus stopped as she spoke, and suddenly she was the only person left on there. "It's…I'm okay, Mom. But I won't be coming home. Not for a while. I'm okay, please don't worry…I'll call you later, okay?" Tears stung her eyes as she went to hang up.

"No, Susannah, don't…" It was too late. Susannah had hung up, and her hand was shaking as she stared at the black phone. It started to ring again. This time, Susannah merely turned it off, stowing it in the bottom of her bag. Then she closed her eyes, leaning her cheek against the cool glass of the window.

Her heart stopped as she heard a voice. "_Querida?_"

_I could sing for change on a Paris street,_

_Be a red light dancer in New Orleans,_

_I could start again to the family,_

_I could change my name,_

_Come and go as I please,_

_In the dead of night you'll wonder where I've gone,_

_Wasn't it you,_

_Wasn't it you,_

_Wasn't it you that made me run away?_

Her face blanched as she turned to stare at the owner of the velvet voice. "Jesse…please…this isn't the best time…" His eyes darkened as he saw her tangled hair, her tearstained face, her shaking body…then his gaze fell on the bag sitting at her side. His eyes were filled with remorse.

Sitting beside her, his hand covered her own. Both were equally as icy cold. "Susannah…don't do this. Don't do this to your family. To your friends." His voice was quieter as he added something else. It took her a moment to realize what he had said. "To _me_."

She shook her head, "I have to, Jesse. I'm sick of everyone being in constant danger because of me. My job…what I do…it's no family profession. I wouldn't wish it on anyone. And I pressed it onto those around me, without giving them a choice."

Jesse's eyes darkened, and his eyebrow rose, almost in question. "But, _querida_, no one gave _you _a choice." Her green eyes snapped up to meet his dark ones, and her own stung with hot tears. Forcing them back, she ploughed on.

_I was just trying to be myself,_

_Have it your way, I'll meet you in hell,_

_It's all these secrets that I shouldn't tell,_

_I've got to run away,_

_It's hypocritical of you, do as you say not as you do,_

_I'll never be your perfect girl,_

_I've got to run away…_

"Now I'm making my choice." Susannah glanced at the hand covering her own, wanting to feel it against her cheek, knowing not to push. "Anyway, it'll be easier on you." The hand suddenly was snatched away, as though it had been burnt, and the expression on Jesse's face told her how furious he was.

Breathing heavily, he spoke. "You are running away, because of _me_? Susannah, that is the most ridiculous thing you have ever done. And I wont let you do it! There's no point." Her lips curved stubbornly, and she shook her head, raising an eyebrow daringly.

"What makes you think you can stop me, Jesse?" She demanded. "There's nothing you can do to make me reconsider this! And what do you mean there's no point? I have my reasons!" The bus driver looked back, and Susannah's cheeks flushed as she realized he thought she was talking to herself.

Jesse's eyes grew softer. "There's no point because I'll follow you, regardless of location." His lips parted as he smiled. "You might as well stay somewhere familiar, because you're not changing anything." Susannah could only stare.

_It don't make any sense to me,_

_Run away,_

_This life makes no sense to me,_

_Run away,_

_It don't make any sense to me,_

_Run away,_

_It don't make any sense to me…_

Composing herself, Susannah spoke. "Why would you follow me, Jesse? To make sure I'm not killed or anything? Because you know as well as I do that I'll be okay…" His lips were suddenly pressed against her own, and suddenly she didn't care who was watching.

As Jesse pulled apart, he trailed a finger down her cheekbone. "That's why, _querida_. Because _I _don't want to have an afterlife without you in it. Losing you…would be dying a thousand deaths a second." Susannah's eyes widened, and she looked at her hand. Jesse reached over, entwining his fingers with hers, and Susannah nodded at him.

"Well, since you've died enough for one lifetime…" She reached into her bag with her free hand, pulling out her cell phone and turning it on. Smiling at Jesse, she dialed her mother's number. "Mom, it's me. Can you pick me up? I want to come home." After giving her mother the location she would be waiting at, she tucked her phone into her pocket.

Jesse's eyes softened. "You might be in for some grounding time, _querida_." Susannah nodded, and a smile spread over her face as she considered something. Looking at him, she smiled, raising an eyebrow.

"And with me being at home…alone…there wont be any interruptions." Her smile grew as Jesse nodded, grinning himself, and wrapped his arms around her. As the bus took her closer to the place she would be meeting her mother to take her home, she considered everything.

She actually had a place in this life. And no one was letting her give that place up.

_This life makes no sense to me,_

_It don't make no sense to me,_

_It don't make any sense to me,_

_Life don't make any sense to me._

**Well, as I said, first Mediator fanfic, so I'd love it if I got a few reviews. I'm going to be starting a chapter fic soon, if all goes to plan, and I'd like some input. Maybe even an editor, if anyone's interested, because no one I know has read The Mediator.**

**Just A Little Bit Dramatic**


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